Tag Archives: afscme

I am recent resident of your ward and a long time employee of Cook County. I have been blessed to work with the children and families of the Cook County Juvenile Court for the past Eleven years as a member of the Clinical Interventions Division. It is in this capacity that I am writing to you and asking for a meeting to discuss my concerns regarding the 2012 budget. In short, I am deeply concerned that vital services will be cut from the our program in the name of austerity.

Cook County Juvenile Probation provides a vital role in taking at-risk youth and transforming them into productive members of society. We save the county and state resource by providing these services in the family’s home, rather than in the Department of Juvenile Justice. We empower parents so they can keep their children safe. We keep communities safe by watching our clients. We work with our local schools to ensure that our clients have a chance to better themselves.

Cuts to our budget directly impact the amount of the services we provide to the families of Cook County. We will lose mental health service, sex offender treatment and supervision programs, and youth input programs (currently a trend in Juvenile Justice and pioneered in Cook County) if our funding is cut.

I would welcome an opportunity to discuss these concerns with you, as well as to generate additional ideas on how to balance the budget.

I am a Cook County Juvenile Probation Officer who has covered the majority of your district for the past Eleven years. I have considered it a privilege to work with the families on Chicago’s far South Side. The current budget woes in Cook County threaten my job, and jeopardize the services that I provide to the families of Cook County.

I provide supervision, case management and treatment to juveniles who have committed sexually aggressive behaviors. I’m on the Illinois Sex Offender Management’s Board of Approved Treatment providers, and I have 12 years of direct experience working with this difficult and expensive population. The services I provide are cheaper than sending a juvenile to Big Muddy or to a residential treatment facility. Despite the savings that my colleagues and I provide the county, we are on the chopping block to close a budget gap.

The County Board believes the best way to close the budget gap is to lay off 29 of my coworkers. Of these 29 dedicated officer, at least two work with me in the Juvenile Sex Offender Unit. Laying off those two workers will at least double my work load. Laying off front line workers, something that President Preckwinkle stated she will not do, will directly cut the services to Cook County’s most vulnerable residents. Within 30 days, instead of providing direct service to the residents of the South Side, I may be limited to coordinating services for a much larger neighborhood. In short, I will have to attempt to find other low-cost Sex Specific Treatment Providers on Chicago’s South Side.

To be blunt, Mr. Commissioner, I am the only low-cost treatment provider on the Management Board’s list in your neighborhood.

Instead of fixing the budget gap by eliminating waste in the forest preserve, within management or with the FIVE IT departments in Cook County (Chief Judge, State’s Attorney, Public Defender, Office of the President, Cook County Clerk), you are targeting the people who rely on services.

Why are you cutting Services, Mr. Beavers? The argument we have heard was that AFSCME refuses to negotiate. As a member of the Bargaining Committee, I can assure you that we have come to the table in good faith. We want a contract–a contract that is years past due–to ensure that our rights as workers are protected. Instead, you want to close the budget gap by directly eliminating county services, in this case necessary mental health and law enforcement. Your actions in this case will make the your neighborhood less safe.

Mr. Beavers, I urge you to work with AFSCME to create a budget that is fair to the people of Cook County. Do not balance your budget by cutting services to the people who need them the most.

Sincerely,

Marty Gleason

PS: I would mail this do you directly, but you don’t have an email address on your Commissioner page or your campaign site.